No Time To Bleed

Cece and I arrived back to the dance in our dressed and everything seemed normal until we got to the dance floor.

“You never loved her!”

Cece and I shared shocked glances before running to the bedlam on the dance floor while the music still played. We followed the noise of Jesse’s voice.

“How the hell can you tell me if I loved her or not? You’re the one making plots and schemes for nothing? I know you're just using her!”

My heart made a great tug. It was Alex who Jesse was arguing with.

“I’m not making any schemes! You’re just plain old fucked up and bitter! I heard about how your cousin died and you’re pathetic!”

My hands desperately shoved through the massive crowd that seemed to be watching the whole thing for entertainment.

“Guys, calm down!” Ashton shouted.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Tell him to say the hell away from her! He obviously can’t even get her to like him! It’s why she came to the dance with me! It’s why she chose me!”

I was getting closer and I could feel the heat rise in my veins. My hands snapped through the last of the crowd. There was Kyle and Ashton holding back Alex while Ashley was at Jesse’s side.

Then, Alex’s arm reeled out from someone’s grasp and slammed into Jesse’s jaw. He toppled over in a heavy heap and I screamed, lunging forward.

“Alex stop!”

Jesse flew up from where’s he’d hit the ground. “Oh, you wanna fight, is that it?”

Alex took another swing and Jesse ducked gracefully, using his crouched position to snap forward and tackle Alex. They went sprawling over a meticulously set up table and Ashley screamed. “You’re ruining the table!”

Alex went down and a chair broke under the impact of his weight. His foot lashed out and caught Jesse, who’d been standing over him, in the ribs. Jesse sprang back a few feet, coughing heavily at the impact.

Blood was flowing from Alex’s nose as murder filled his eyes. I lunged at him.

“Alex, get the hell away from him! Get hell away-“ His hand dug into my shoulder and heaved me aside.

My heels snapped from the force of the shove and I heard the fabric of my dress rip. I flew down hard and screamed as my head hit the edge of a table. My vision was dizzying and tears were already flowing out my eyes.

“You guys gotta take him down!” Cece screamed, unafraid as everyone one else stood frozen.

Alex’s hands dug into Jesse’s hair and his other fist slammed into the boy’s face. Jesse went down to the cement hard and I didn’t even know I was screaming.

“Alex stop! Stop hurting him!”

But, Alex’s fist slammed down again and again, blood spewing from Jesse’s lips with each punch.

Cece grabbed a plate and slammed it against Alex’s head. The blunt object seemed to only have minimal effect. Then, the gun shot rang through the air.

Everyone turned to see a dead body lying about 100 feet away. The moans of the inhuman were just outside the fences gates.

“One of them tried to get in! Run!” A panicked voice screamed.

But, only Cece, Ashton, Alex, Jesse, Kyle, and I stayed. We didn’t fear those things like everyone else.

I crawled over to Jesse’s still form on the ground and sobbed as I cradled his pulverized face in my lap. His throat gurgled out words I’d never know as guards were running all around.

“I told him to leave you alone. He didn’t listen.” Alex hissed.

“I hate you, Alex.” I choked out the words through my tears as I just held Jesse’s head closer and closer to my body.

Please don’t let Jesse die. Please. Please.

The guards came over, forcing even us to go inside. I just stayed there crying as I held Jesse’s head on my lap on the outside floor.

“Just stay awake, Jessie. Just stay awake.”

With all the guards rushing around and shouting orders, I didn’t notice that someone had
walked up to me.

“Jasmine.” The voice was calm and measured, but something I barely recognized.

“What?” My voice was still a mixture of pain and tears. I hated that Alex had done this. I hated Alex. I hated him.

“Brett’s coming tomorrow at 9 am. You have to be ready. Here’s the code for the power control door.” A piece of paper was placed next to me and through the intense emotion; the shock hadn’t registered with me until I got inside.

It was Rodney who handed me the piece of paper with the code. Brett Wiggin’s son had helped me once to break out of Lexicon and now he was helping us again.

It had been Rodney the entire time.

* * * *

The piece of paper burned a third degree hole in pocket as I helped Jesse into the airport. His face was completely demolished and he was limping with a wheeze escaping his lips, but he was moving. He was alive.

Inside, people were going crazy at the prospect that a zombie had climbed the fence. I grunted as I urged Jesse to move on forward with his arm slung around my shoulder. The lights in the airport were dimmed and now flashlights were being used. People were talking loudly.

I started the slow walk with Jesse still attached to me towards a guard. “Excuse me! My friend needs medical help! Excuse me!”

The guard just glared at me and kept on walking.

“Excuse me!” I shouted.

Flashlights were being used all around and Cece came storming over.

“Jasmine, have you seen Alex?!”

I glared at her, completely baffled why she was asking.

“Why the hell are you asking me?” I screamed back. It was so freaking loud in here.

“Because they’ve been-“ A loud smash went off across the lobby. “people to all different places. Ashton said he saw-“ Someone screamed and it sent shivers down my spine.

“I can’t hear you!” I shouted back.

Cece cupped her hands around her mouth shouted to me. “They’re taking people!”

Another scream went across the lobby and a riot seemed to be starting. People were pushing and shoving. Cece and I were holding a death grip to either sides of Jesse. A heavy elbow socked into my side and the already exploding headache in my mind was growing.

“We need to get to the hotel!” Cece shouted. “I just saw Ashley and that looked like where she was heading.

People were screaming at it was miracle we somehow maneuvered our way through the panicking crowd. Men in white suits were grabbing people, pulling them in different directions. 20 minutes later, Cece and I had managed to make it to the hotel’s lobby.

“Where were you guys?” Ashton jogged forward with Ashley, Kyle, another boy, and Alex behind him.

“We were trying to get through the crowd. It was totally crazy.” Cece answered.

Alex just stood near the back and said nothing while we spoke.

Jesse did a little angry grunt beside me and Ashton eyed him worriedly while he spoke. “Well, that thing climbing over the fences got everyone freaked out. Those guards are taking people to the Levels with no questions. It was best that we got out of there.”

We turned behind us to see more dazed people moving into the hotel lobby.

“Well, what do we do now?” I asked, my shoulder starting to burn from Jesse’s weight.

The boy whom I’d never seen before moved forward. “I’ll take Jesse back to our room and clean him up.”

“I’ll help.” Kyle said, following them as they walked off.

“I think we should all get to our rooms. Get away from all of us.”

“Brett’s coming tomorrow.” I blurted out.

Now, Alex seemed to be paying attention.

Cece looked to me as well. “How do you know?”

“Before I helped Jesse inside, he gave me a slip of paper with the code for that door and said Brett was coming tomorrow at 9 am.”

“Who’s he?” Alex cut in, still standing away from all of us.

I disregarded him, but answered anyway. “It’s Rodney. He helped me get out of Lexicon after I got into that room.”

Cece’s eyebrows rose. “You mean Rodney Wiggins is behind all this?”

Did she know him?

“Alright. Alright. I think we all need to get our sleep before things get crazier.” Ashton reasoned. “Let’s all head upstairs.”

I stood in place as they all walked upstairs. Everyone except for Alex that is who had blood all down his shirt.

His blue eyes just looked to me for the longest time as if telling the whole story of something I’d never understand. He didn’t even need to speak for me to realize it.

“I will never forgive you for this.”

And with my words hanging in the air, I walked past him and up to my room.

At least tomorrow all of this would end. All of it.